captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown: a federal court ruled president obama's appointments to the national labor relations

board made during a congressional recess were unconstitutional. good evening. i'm jeffrey brown. >> sreenivasan: and i'm hari sreenivasan. on the newshour tonight, we get the latest on the decision and the reaction from the white house. >> brown: then, we hear from two of our newshour colleagues on the road: margaret warner reports from jerusalem on moves in israel to form a new coalition government. >> sreenivasan: and ray suarez updates the high-powered meetings of heads of state, business leaders, and others at the world economic forum in davos, switzerland. >> brown: from mali, lindsey hilsum looks at tensions caused by government troops as they advance into islamist territory. >> sreenivasan: spencer michels has a story about trash and one city's crusade to eliminate all of it. >> reporter: san francisco boasts that it recycles 80% of all garbage, and is aiming for zero waste. but some skeptics don' believe it. >> brown: plus, mark shields and david brooks analyze the week's news. that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

>> bnsf railway. >> support also comes from carnegie corporation of new york, a foundation created to do what andrew carnegie called "real and permanent good." celebrating 100 years of philanthropy at carnee.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and friends of the newshour. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: a federal appeals court rejected several recess appointments made by president oba last year, saying the moves were unconstitutional. the president appointed three people to the national labor relations board last january.

the president argued he was justified in doing so because the senate was away for a 20-day break. but republicans and business groups said the senate was still technically in session, if only for a few minutes every few days. the panel of three judges-- all appointed by republican presidents-- said mr. obama had done an inappropriate end-run around the senate. but white house spokesman jay carney took issue with the ruling. >> e decision is novel and unprecedented. it contradicts 150 years of practice by democratic and republican administrations. so we respectfully but strongly disagree with the rulings. accord together congressional research service something like 280 plus intrasession recess appointments by, again, democratting and republican administrations dating back to 1867.

>> sreenivasan: if the decision stands, it could invalidate hundreds of decisions made by the labor board. moreover, the body would not have enough members to issue decisions, effectively shutting it down. the ruling also could spell trouble for richard cordray, the head of the consumer financial protection board. he was not part of this legal case, but he was appointed in the same manner on the same day. for more on all this, we turn to steven greenhouse of "the new york times." nice to be here. >> steven, just back us up a little bit. what are some of these decisions why are 9 decisions from the national labor relations board so congressional? >> employers and unions see the national labor relations board as extremely important because there are often fights between the two about whether the union broke the law during a strike, whether the employer broke the law during a unionization, andnow the labor board has really gotten very involved in setting rules for employer os on social media, when can employers tell their employees what they can do in social media and

what they can't. and basically the effect of today ruling would nullify a lot of watching what nlb has done over the past year if the supreme court upholds it. >> so what were the problems that the judges in the district court have? >> the judges-- the judges said that the recess, the recess appoint oments by president obama last january were illegal. the president said that the senate was actually out for a break. and that he was allowed to make these ress appointments. the senate said, the republicans in the senate said it was not a real break. that they were continuing to have pro forma sessions and they maintained it was illegal for the president to make these appointments. and today the three judge panel ruled that the president recess appointments during intrasessions were

illegal. the court really said today that the president essentially can only make recess appointments once every two years between each congressional session. between each conessional sessio you kw after a two year congressional session ends and right before the next one begins, so this would greatly weaken a president's recess appointment powers. >> as jim carney was mentioning earlier in that sound bite, he said this has been practiced and precedent for a long time. so is the likelihood that this particular rule cog have an effect on all sorts of presidential appointments going forward? >> absolutely. some people pointed out that many federal judges are sitting on the bench now thanks to their reaes-- recess appoiments. and as a rult todas ruli of the three judge panel of the federal appeals court and the district of columbia, those judges appointments could be nullified. and there are prisoners sitting if prison nowadays thinking wait t this is good news. maybe my conviction, maybe

my sentencing can be overturned because the judge who ordered my sentence was a recess appointment. >> so considering the magnitude of all this, the supreme court likely to take it up? >> i think so, hari. it's not absolutely clear but because this decision has so much import and because it's the same question being heard now by several different circuit courts and thus there is a likelihood, a good chance there might be a conflict between the circuits, i think it points strongly to the supreme court hearing this case some day. and meanwhile, the labor board might really be in limbo for a year or two or three until the supreme court issues a decision. >> so let's talk for a second about richard corddry. he was confirmed in the same manner on the same day as these members in the national labor relations board is there a likelihood that he will be affected by this as well? >> yes and no, it'snclr. so yesterday president obama renominated mr. corddry for full term. and when de that two years

ago, originally congress basically signaled the republicans in the senate signaled we are not going to confirm mr. corddry, so the president did this recess appointment. now it's unclear whether the republicans are going to allow its confirmation of corddry to go through. and you know, obama might have to really try to twist the arms of senate republicans. but that's not very easy. and probablywould not be able to anoer recess appoint oment of corddry because according to this decision, it's not the end of session for congress. >> so could this tie the administration down for a long time? >> i think the effect of this decision is that it might really tie the hands of this president and perhaps a future president. president to make recess appointments except that one window between congresses. and it really greatly increases the wore of t senate to-- in ways block,

you know, block appointments to tell president that an unless you deliver up an appointee, a nominee of someone that we can digest that we really like, someone that is much more moderate, we're not going to let this go through. >> we should mention that this isn't happening in a vacuum there are layers and lay ares of politics involved in all this as well, right? >> there is tons of politics. the obama administration has been saying that we really need this power of recess appointments because over the past 2 3, 4, 5, yrs, congress has gotten, the republicans in congress have gotten far more partisan. they've gotten much, much more aggressive about preventing confirmation of nlrb appointees and of judicial appointees. and i'm sure that many in the obama administration are really tremendously up set by this decision because it really might seriously block their ability to name the people that they feel under the constitution they have

the right to nominate. >> all right, steven greenhouse o the ew yrk times," thanks so much for joining us. >> nice to be here. >> brown: coming up-- location reports from two newshour correspondents: margaret warner in jerusalem, and ray suarez in davos, switzerland. plus, the advances against islamist rebels in mali; zero waste in san francisco; and shields and brooks. but first, the other news of the day. here's kwame holman. >> holman: president obama chose his long-time foreign policy advisor denis mcdonough to be the new white house chief of staff. mr. obama made the announcement this afternoon. he lauded mcdonough, and told him, "i know you'll always give it to me straight, as only a riencan. mcdonough will take over from jack lew, who's been nominated to replace timothy geithner as the next treasury secretary. today was geithner's last day, after four years on the job. in a final interview, he said he's hopeful the economy will strengthen this year. the defense department has begun eliminating the jobs of all

46,000 temporary civilian employees at the pentagon. the announcement today said it's a response to mandatory, across- the-board spending cuts. they're scheduled to take effect march 1, unless congress comes up with aernative cuts. without changes, hundreds of thousands of full-time civilian employees will face furloughs and reduced paychecks by april. the government of syria called today for thousands of refugees to come home, including those opposed to the regime. nearly 600,000 syrians have fled the civil war and gone to neighboring countries. there's been a new surge this week. we have a report narrated by alex thomson of independent television news. >> the children say they double-checked their figures. they counted around 10,000 children in the overcrowded camps in jordan in just the past 24 hours, with the parents or gardens they recognized around 20,000 people in all. with the winter cold and conditions like this, in the camps, king abdullah of

jordan took the might of these people to the top today, to the world economic summit in davous. >> jordan is hosting almost 300,000. the weakest ref gos are struggling now just to survive this year's harsh winter. more international support is desperately needed. and it's only going to get worse. >> back there syria it is indeed getting worse. these people filmed getting out and leaving in the past 24 hours. it's partly fuel shortage, heating oil in particular. but it's also this too, intense fighting during the past two weeks in the once densely populated areas stretching from southern damascus suburbs down to the border with jordan itself. it's not just jordan, of course. syrian refugees now strung out across lebanon, iraq, northern syria and here over the frontier in turkey. where toys were hand out

today and the little boys seemed pleased enough with them. these girls, however, appeared to have the weary stare of young people who have known already far too much of what life can bring. >> holman: the u.s. plans to send $10 million more in humanitarian aid to help feed refugees inside syria. the focus will be around aleppo in the north. there were clashes in egypt today as anti-government rallies marked the second anniversary of the revolution. at least four people were shot and killed in the city of suez. the scene in cairo's tahrir square was reminiscent of the massive crowds who helped topple president hosni mubarak. street battles with police broke out in cairo and elsewhere, and well more than 300 people were hurt. the protesters say the revolution was hijacked by islamists, who now control the government. thousands of anti-abortion protesters rallied in washington today against "roe versus wade." the supreme court decision that legalized abortion was handed down 40 years ago this week.

this year's rally and march came in frigid temperatures. protesters carried signs and chanted slogans on the steps of the supreme court. abortion rights demonstrators staged a counter-demonstration there. republican senator saxby chambliss of georgia will not run for a third term in 2014. in a statement today, chambliss said, "this is about frustration." he said he's unhappy with president obama's direction and tired of partisan gridlock. chambliss had angered tea party forces when he supported tax increes as part of a plan to tame the federal deficit. wall street closed the week with another rally. the dow jones industrial average gained 70 points to close near 13,896. the nasdaq rose 19 points to close at 3,149. the s&p 500 finished above 1,500 for the first time since 2007. for the week, the dow gained nearly 2%; the nasdaq rose half a percent. those are some of the day's major stories.

now, back to jeff. >> brown: we turn to israel, where prime minister benjamin netanyahu is working to build s coation afteruesd's election. the contest saw a surprisingly strong showing from a centrist party led by a former television personality. margaret warner is in jerusalem. i spoke with her a short time ago. >> so margaret, a few days after the election what kind of government seems to be taking shape? >> jeff, i'm told that bebenetanyahu is trying to put together a very broad coalition, not relying just on the trawl religious and ultra conservative and settler movement crowd that is in his current government. so he is worki with that surprise second place finisher to try to put together a very big coalition as well. a lot more votes than they really need. would if the people they're talking about join the government really span a range of viewpoints on everything from how to improve economic conditions for the middle class to say restarting peace talks with

the principles. but it will take-- it could take a month to actually firm up. >> tell us a little bit about that surprise second place nisherbecae it really was a surprise, did get a lot of attention in the leadup. >> warner: it really was, he is 49 years-year-old. it was only a year ago this month that he announced he was leaving journalism to enter politics yet he came up with 19 seats. that was only one less than netanyahu and his likud party gotten tirely on their own. so he is the hot new property here. he already was a celebrity. he is the son of a holocaust survivor who ended up in the government here. but he had gone really quite his own direction. he's been a television talk show ht and a very popar columnist. he has written thrillers and children's books and a play am and he has even act in a movie. so really it was, as i said, just a year ago that he said he was leaving it all for politics. and his last column was

something called where is the money? and that is where he let out, set up for his theo which is the burden to society has to be shared more equally. >> so margaret when you think about the implications of his coming government for any movement in the israeli-palestinian stggle or relatiosith the u.s. i just wonder what you have seen in israel in terms of division. how divided does it feel politically and culturally? >> well, it was just within israeli society, jeff, there is much greater division culturally than i even notice. i have been here for about six years. in the old divide used to be over how much and how to deal with the era of the palestinians, in particular and whether to give land for peace. the new divide is very cultural and i is between the ultraorthodox religious and also the pro settler nationalist movement which aren't the same. but the ultraorthodox are

growing as a portion of the population because they have more children. and what they call the seculars even though they are observant jews. but they are, they separate their politics from their religion. and you really see ton the streetsment i men in many neighborhoods, and certainly in tel aviv people dress just as they do in the states. but there are a lot of neighborhoods and especially up here in jerusalem you see the orodoxveryere and men in their black hats and curls behind their ears and the women whose hair really is as covered as women in many muslim countries. and so there is a lot of resentment, especially among secular israelis about the special privileges that the orthodox and the settler movement get. everything from greater public spending, to the fact that the ultraorthodox with their young people say they are studying the torah are exempted from compulsory national military service that every other young israeli, male or female has to see. anthats reay u know,

the most striking divide that i see here in israel. >> brown: so margaret, give us a flavor for what is coming next week. what are you reporting on. >> warner: jeff, we came here to look at the three big issues that newly elected president obama and prime minister netanyahu have to address. and that's the iranian nuclear program, the conflict in syria, and the israeli-palestinian issue. and so even as we reported on the elections, we've been looking at those three issues. of course we talked to a lot of israelis. but yesterday for instance we went up to the golan heights which is, you know, a ld th thesraes captured from the syrians. and that is really where the two countries meet up. you can see how very close the conflict is you can hear the boom of firing from the other side. and looked at the defensive measures that israeli is taking to try to prevent any spillover. we also this week went into gaza, just two months after the israeli-gaza conflict there, for example, to assess how people are feeling and in particular about how they feel about

the prospects for israeli-palestinian peace. so we hope to have some textured stories ne week. >> brown: all right. we will look for those next week. margaret warner in jerusalem, thanks some of. >> warner: thank you, jeff. >> brown: margaret and the rest of our reporting team are filing stories on our web site. you can read their insights and analysis on our "world" page. >> sreenivasan: and to another newshour correspondent overseas- - ray suarez in davos, switzerland. he's moderating panels at the world economic forum, where there's been talk about the future of the european union. we spoke earlier this evening. >> ray, les start with the ws this week. the u.k. isaking som noises about backing away in some parts from the european union. what is the reaction there? where are all these european leaders are. >> well, here in davous the week was heavily dominated by news of the health of the joint european currency, the euro. and whether, in fact, the european union as it has

come to be known would remain with one of its largest members. prime minister david cameron earlier this week dropped a bomb that he was going to later in this parliamentary term in a couple of years put britain's continued membership in the european union to a vote. and right now the union is not very popular among british politicians. so perhaps feeling the heat at home, cameron is responding this way? >> and what about the relationship with angela merkel of germany who put a tremendous amount of her own personal credibility on the line to help prop up the currency? >> well, you know, britain has long brideeled-- bridled under the rules that accompany its membership in the european unionment and david cameron has been hinting that the price of aying might be negotiati a better deafor hi country in some of the areas that the european union governs. >> well, angela merkel and other european politicians in response have said, wait a minute, britain can't work

out os own special deal. there's long been grumbling on the continent about britain's trying to tug against the reigns that hold it to the continent. angela merkel is being credited this week in davous with saving the joint european currency, some of the economists who predicted last year during last year's conference that the euro was not long for the world and that greece would certainly be out of the currency r now conceding that greece is probably in to stay and that the euro is probably in to stay as well. but it is at no small cost to angela merkel and her party. >> help put this in perspective. in your blog post yesterday you were writing about the sentiment response from george sorros, big time investor as well as mohamed el arian who runs a large investment fund. >> george sorros was one of the people who earlier-- ear on id tat the european union had designed the currency badly. and that its weaknesses would probably become evident. he felt that he had been

vindicated when the economic crisis hit both north america and europe and suddenly the governments of european countries in the eurozone had to step in and guarantee all kinds of loans. weakening the currency. sorros says that angela merkel's efforts in the intervening 14 months have probably saved the euro. he gives her a lot of credit but he still isn't high on the futurof the currency. he says that while germany has done very well by the currency, brought down the prices of its goods and made its exports affordable in many more places in the world, there is still serious problems with the euro that have to be taken into account. tonight i went to a high school here in this swiss alpine town where they invited all coppers, people attending the conference and locals to come hear european finance ministers talk about the future of the euro. and it's like discussing a patient that you thought was going to d andis now

merely in intensive care. nobody likes to use the word austerity. the italian finance minister calls it responsibility. the german finance minister said oh, i don't like the sound of the word austerity it sounds so harsh in eng will be. i prefer the word discipline, which probably he jokes is a good german word. and earlier this week, the head of the imf called it consolidation. either way, it's painful. europe has 18 million unempyed, and these measures are going to have to stay in place for a long time to come. >> finally, ray, if you can give us a slice of the atmosphere n one of your posts you said it has been described by its critics, the entire conference and meeting as woodstock for gas bags, have they changed. are they trying to be more inclusive. is the agenda of the meeting any different? >> suarez: absolutely. in the year since 9/11, and then even reinforced in the

years since the global-- global financial meltdown there's been a real attempt to bring in the critics of capitalism, bring in the critics of the world economic forum itself into the conference to be able to confront the leaders of industry and the leaders of government would come here year in and year out to deliver their critique. so not only is the crowd more diverse than it was a dozen years ago when i came for the first time, but also the matters under consideration are more diverse there is far more talk about global climate change. far more talk about inequality in wages. inside countries and then across dierent econom zones. a lot of worry about the poor, not necessarily out oval truism, but out of the understanding that if you can make the poor less poor, they will be better customers. and transnational business will prosper. >> all right, thanks, ray. and you can read ray's daily dispatches from davos on the rundown.

>> brown: next, to the west african nation of mali. today, islamist fighters destroyed a bridge using explosives near the niger border. meanwhile, french forces pushed towards the rebel stronghold city of gao. but lindsey hilsum of independent television news reports that the malian army is now posing problems for the french military. >> reporter: the malian army is on the lookout for jihadis running from french bombing. soldiers in units fighting further north say the islamist fighters are well-armed and many of them very young. in the gendarmery in sevare, an officer brought out a 16-year- old he said had been captured near douentza, a town the jihadists had occupied until last week. the boy said he'd just been looking for work. >> ( translated ): they gave us clothes and shoes. we stayed with them, cooking for

them. after a few days, one team of mutra hadeem went out to fight, but we stayed to cook for the others. >> reporter: he seemed bewildered. "i never carried a weapon," he said, "and my friend and i ran away when the fighting started." >> ( translated ): when the mutra hadeem left to give food to their colleagues at the heckpoints, we realized that we had to leave. when we were walking, we came face to face with a patrol of the malian army. they started asking us questions. when they realized that we stayed with the mutra hadeems, they took us with them to gendarmery to find out more about us. >> reporter: on a barren wasteland across town, a sign that both sides in this war can be cruel. and civilians are the ones who suffer. the well is spattered with blood-- the malian army is said to be responsible. you can just make out a body at the bottom of the pit. the old man shows us a second well. the french international federation for human rights

says, in the last two weeks, malian soldiers in sevare have summarily murdered 11 tuaregs and arabs, accusing them of being jihadists. at least two bodies have been stuffed down these wells. the local people took this red earth and put it down the well to stop the body from smelling. this conflict is entering a very dangerous phase. most of the people i've met so far hate the jihadists. they want to support the malian army, but if the soldiers behave as badly as their enemies, then what is to stop the people from going to the other side? the french are only too aware of the problem. tuaregs and arabs farther north fear reprisals by the malian army-- to them, the jihadists might be the lesser of two evils. >> ( translated ): listen, it depends on the will of the local population. they have to choose their fate, whether or not to accept the jihadis.

it's hard to accept a population that is in favor of the jihadis. so the malian people will decide the future of mali. >> reporter: french armor is far superior than that of al qaeda in the islamic maghreb, but if the people of northern mali fear and hate the malian troops fighting alongside the french, victory may me hollow and short- lived. >> brown: the malian army got a boost from britain today. its defense ministry will deploy a spy plane to mali to help with the military intervenon. >> sreenivasan: now, a story about trash. as the nation produces more and more, one city is trying to eliminate all of it. newshour correspondent spencer michels reports. >> reporter: each year,

americans throw away about 250 million tons of garbage. that's roughly four pounds per person per day. you can find all manner of trash in a landfill-- old music stands, plastic bags, and a lot of items that could have been recycled, like bottles and cardboard. beyond the obvious blight they cause, landfills create environmental damage, including carbon dioxide emissions. they are monuments to waste. those concerns have prompted san francisco and a handful of other cities to aim for a once- unthinkable goal-- zero waste. in 2009, san francisco became the first city in the country to require that residents and businesses separate compostable items, like food scraps, and recyclable goods, like paper, metals, and plastic, into separate bins from their trash. and that has led to a big

reduction in the amount of garbage headed to the landfill, according to san francisco mayor ed lee. >> we're proud of the 80% diversion rate, the highest in the country, certainly of any city in north america. >> reporter: lee likes to talk garbage. he touts the fact that the city's recycling and composting law has helped the city keep 80% of its waste out of landfills; the national recycling average is just 35%. but lee wants the city to go even further. >> all of us, as part of our culture of living here in the bay area, have appreciated the goals of our environment and climate change and doing everything that we can. i think the 80%, we're not going to be satisfied with that, spencer. we want 100% zero waste. this iwherwe'rgoing. >> reporter: is that possible? >> i think it is. it is possible.

>> reporter: san francisco residents sven eberlein and debra baida think it's possible, too. they are avid recyclers and composters, so much so that they produce almost no trash. baida lists what goes into the compost bin. >> we put wrappers from our butter, put any meat or package, that kind of packaged paper food, soiled food wrappings, tissues, q-tips, paper napkins, which we don't have in our home. if those come in, those go there. soiled paper plates, milk cartons. >> i go to travel somewhere, and i'm, you know, i have, like, an apple and "where's the compost?" you know, and i have to throw it in the trash, and it kind of, you know, it just doesn't feel quite right, you know. >> reporter: but not all san franciscans are as enthusiastic as eberlein and baida. those who refuse to sort their garbage can face fines ranging from $100 to $1,000.

>> and we're just in your neighborhood trying to educate residents about composting and recycling. >> reporter: teams of workers from the city are knocking on doors of residents who, unbeknownst to them, have had their garbage cans inspected by auditors early in the morning. on the evening we followed along, outreach workers were visiting homes which had put items in the wrong bins. >> we've noticed there's been a lot of confusion about what goes in what bin, and so i'm here to answer any questions. >> i think were good with recycling, but i guess could you give me a rundown on what goes in composting? >> if it was once alive-- soiled food-- it is compostable. >> reporter: so far, only warnings have been given out; no fines have been imposed yet. and city officials say the move toward zero waste is catching on. san francisco's 80-year-old private garbage company, which recently invented a new name for itself-- "recology"-- has been investing in recying and

composting facilities, and trying to change san franciscans' perceptions of their garbage. >> where some see garbage, recology sees opportunity. working together, we've helped make san francisco america's greenest city. >> reporter: c.e.o. and president mike sangiacamo took us on a tour of recology's sprawling 22-acre composting facility northeast of san francisco. in rms of food wast composting, this is as good as it gets. we're creating a product that can be used on the soil to replenish nutrients that growing food crops take out of the soil. >> reporter: food scraps and yard clippings brought here-- some 400 tons a day- are turned into rich compost that is now being used by vineyards in napa and sonoma.

in the rest of the nation, where composting is a rarity, 97% of food waste is disposed of in landfills, anthat causes environmental problems, according to regional epa director jared blumenfeld. >> about half the food we buy from the supermarket ends up going into the landfill. that's unacceptable. the stuff that rots and smells produces methane, which is a very, very potent greenhouse gas. and even if there's a cover on the top of just soil and stuff, that goes into the atmosphere and is really contributing in a large way to climate change issues. >> reporter: beyond the environntal benefits, recology and city officials point to another perk of moving the city toward zero waste-- jobs. at recology's massive recycling center, which has been inundated in recent weeks with wrapping paper left over from the holidays, 186 jobs have been created over the past ten years. most of the sorting done here is by hand. workers separate plastics,

cardboard, cans and bottles so they can be packaged and shipped to recycled material markets, mostly in asia. >> reporter: for all the ballyhoo over san francisco's recycling and composting programs, there are skeptics. some san franciscans say city officials haven't verified those rosy recycling and composting statistics. >> it's a myth, it's a bogus figure. >> reporter: quentin kopp, a former state senator, and member of the san francisco board of supervisors, was part of an unsuccessful ballot effort last year to open the city's garbage contract up to a competitive bidding process. kopp says recology is inflating their recycling figures so they can boast that they are leading the nation >> yes, it is a gd idea to recycle. it's also a good idea to be honest to the public about how much of the refuse and garbage in san francisco is actually being recycled.

nobody knows, except probably this company knows. they falsify the quantity, they falsify the type of material, and it's part of a bogus scheme to inflate the amount of recycling done. and city hall goes along with it because it makes the politicians at city hall look good. >> reporter: how do you know the figures are accurate? does the city verify them? >> yes, spencer, we actually do. not only does our department of the environment go out and do audits, we actually have auditors that go out there and make sure that we're all in compliance with the way we measure it, and using the state standards and the state process to do it. >> reporter: so there's no doubt in your mind that the 80% is real. >> oh, no doubt at all, no doubt at all in my mind. >> reporter: whatever the actual number is, recycling and composting don't come free.

>> all of the services we provide are paid for by the customers whose material we're taking away. >> reporter: are they paying more in rates because of all this recycling and composting than they would otherwise? >> i would bet they're paying a little more. but if you compare rates in the bay area-- san francisco versus other communities-- we're right in the middle of the pack. and we're doing a lot more recycling than any other communities. >> reporter: residents currently pay about $28 a month for their trash bins; recycling and composting bins are free. but last month, recology requested a rate increase, and for the first time, wants to charge for composting and recycling bins, something recology says is necessary as the city moves towards eliminating its trash by 2020. >> sreenivasan: spencer reflects on his "trashy" assignment, the moves by his city to reduce waste, and the financial factors at play behind the scenes. his blog is on our web site.

>> brown: and to the analysis of shields and brooks. that's syndicated columnist mark shield and "new york times" columnist david brooks. >> don't worry, we recycle. >> all right, so the week began with the inauguration, we talked on monday it ends with the white house appointment of the new chief of staff, mark. what is the new team what is the language you heard this week tell you about the president that barack oama want os to be? >> ihink like all re-elected presidents, he sees a mandate, an expanded vision of a mandate from the electoral victory. but he realizes time is short. and i think he does not show the same level of patience with the congress that he showed in his first term, that certain in patients, a realization that probably this is his best year in all likelihood, if history is

any guide. i think he's been more sure footed. and i think a happier warrior as i saidearlier. nd i thinkhe people, dennis mcdonough who has chosen to be his chief of staff is somebody whom he likes, whom he is comfortable with, it is very much in his comfort zone. >> uh-huh. >> and probably the only person ever to be white house chief of staff who was a safety for john gagleardi, the winningest coach in college football history. >> i knew we have some trivia. >> actually, many cornerbacks were also chiefs of staff. >> he, as my colleague peter baker said, it's stirred, not shakenment so he is has not taken new people from outside. >> i mean i said a new team but it's almost -- >> it's all the same people, just in different chairs. and a lot of people got promoted, some people like quitener left. but we know o booma by now. he does not like to bring in fwrerb blood.

he likes people he trust, he likes people like mcdonough who would throw themselves on a grain aid for them, extremely loyal, trustworthy and they are to the going to leak. so he sticks with those people. and he's been doing since he became presidt. as for his term, i sort of thing he is in danger through no fault of his own or only halfway of really wasting these which-- few months, precious months of the second term on budget. i think we're going have a bunch of squabbles. the chance of us getting tax reform are mines call. so well he probably find a mediocre fix for the reconciliation, budget stuff. but we'll spend relative little time on big stuff. i think judging still by the inauguration, he's thinking the long-term. he's thinking th republan party is extraordinarily weak. i'm going to try to go around the country and try to build a new majority on pretty liberal terms. and it's not about passing legislation over the next four years. it's been really weakening the other side and building

up my stuff. >> what do you think, speaking of the republicans, here they are meeting. they are having their annual meeting in charlotte. and we've talked about this too. their weakness, you just mentioned it again. they're trying to figure out how their position going forward. >> i do think the president at least implicitly and tacitly recognized the states that he made in the first term. i think the emphasis, reappointment of richard corddry and mary jo white at the securities and exchange mission san acknowledgment that in 1989 when we had the savings & loan scandal in this country, 724 savings an loans went over, it cost the taxpayer $87 billion. a thousand savings and lobe executives went to jail, a thousand. and this tarp and the bailouts, the banks, left us with $800 billion over,, well over 700 to taxpayers. and we could count on two hands the number of bankers.

sow i think there is a sense that he is did not address this. his administration was not aggressive in the first term. he wants to be in the second term. as far as the republicans are concerned, they are simply going through the terrible stages every defeated party does. one side says we lost because we didn't stick enough to our principals. the other side we lost because we were too dog matic and didn't reach out to thendeced. so the first inclination is always to blame your own candidate. you blame al gore if are you a democrat in 2000, john kerry in 2004, you blame john mccain. the republicans want to blame mitt romney, that's fine. but mitt romney is more popular than the republican party. i mean he got 47%, the republicans are dead in the water right now. so you know they're going through a difficult period. and they have got to try and figure out that they can't talk to the latino, the stest growing group in the country.

they're basically not conversational with younger voters. they are asians have left them in droves. you know, they have just, they're an aging white party and in a country that is not less white-- that is less white each year. >> you farther bobby jindal gave a speech saying we're fighting the wrong fight that is one side of what he is talking about. >> the jindal speech is interesting because i think it is a sign that a lot of smart republicans like jindal understand the problem. but the jindal speech is still, it's as if your conservatives have learned to speak a special language within themselves about government and about you know, attacking liberal media. all the normal code words. and so jindal said some smart things in the abstract, we got to stop being a stupid party. we have to try to talk to outsiders. but he still lost in the prism of those code words, so does he tell a story about what it's like to be a waitress in ohio or what it's like to be a struggling hispanic worker in texas. he didn't talk that

language. it's all about government, term limits, the old code word so it is's actually very hard to get outside the mental framework you've grown-up in. and the party is still stuck in that framework and i imagine it will be for months and maybe even years. it takes pain to force yourself. the key, it's not genius. if you want to win election you have to get people who didn't vote for to you vote four. and so focusing it and listening to those people that didn't vote for you is the step. and republicans still haven't taken that step. the people who are not already in your community what are they saying. that's the step. >> just to pick up one thing, there is the whole thing is what is the gimmick. must be some gimic. oh boy, it is social networking, it is-- it's -- >> electoral college. >> yeah, it's got to be something we can do that way. i mean that the other side is doing. radio with fdr republicans. and democrats said ronald reagan is good on television. question get somebody as good on tv as he is instead

of that moment of introspection saying people found the other side, the other side are opponents to be more relevant, more real and more plausible to our lives and their lives than they found us. and that's-- it's a terrible thing to live with rejection but a losing party has to say what is it, and what you can't do is blame the voters. and i have heard ecoes of that the voters, that's the 47% of takers, you know, no wonder we can't win if they are all just parasites and worse. >> can i flip us into foreign policy because also this week there was hillary clinton testifying finally on benghazi. and then here is john kerry. first on benghazi, and hillary clinton s that still a live issue? >> i never thought it was a live issue. it was something to attack the administration on election fees. and there you know believe me there were false. but it was more a talking point.

i think we've reached the final chapter. i think benghazi is over. and it was sort of a substitute for having a foreign policy debate. >> john kerry in his own testimony emphasizing the budget and how much the fiscal situation was a weakening american prestige because we look like a country that can't run ourselves. and b just weakening what we can do around the world. because we just don't have the resources to do it. so he very explicitly said that which is something admiral mike mullhen said when he was chairman of the joint chiefs. >> he also brought up things like climate, food security. >> so i'm a little more skeptical that that will really dominatement a lot of people always say nonmilitary stuff will dominate our foreign policy but when you have to face iran this year, one way or the other, are you going to be back to pretty traditional power politics. >> but we have chen two people in john kerry and uck hagel, whoa whose response is not immediate resort to military

intervention. i mean both of them i think have records that that is established. as far as the benghazi hearings, it was an embarrassment. it really was. i mean i thought the republicans in the senate foreign relations committee, especially senator johnson of wisconsin, jor rand of kentucky, senator rand paul, excuse me, were just lightweights. i moan they were looking at me, we when through 9/11 in this country. and not once in any hearing thereafter did any member of this administration, administration sitting in power then be questioned by a member of congress, the other party or their own party, what was going on. what were you hiding. the presumption that, you know, somehow you had some information and weren't sharing it and i thought hillary clinton handled herself well. i thought she was a grown-up in a meeting of add liss-- adolescents. >> she gave it back pretty tough.

>>he if you n't take i hillaryclinton, don't start. i think we did learn that. >> what do you think of her, well, the performance this time but also to you we can look back at four years, what will stand out about her time. >> i think she is regarded as a successful secretary of state for sure. the question i would have is what was independent. and this is something i'm frankly ignorant on. i think people cover this closely. what was a clinton initiative. what do we say, aside from the foreign policy being paid by the president, what was the foreign policy she was responsible for. she did a lot of traveling. and she did a lot of talking to people. but what was her iniative? and i confess i have trouble, there was some emphasis on women, some other things like that but as far as a big shift in american foreign policy, that was hillary clinton's idea, she pushed it through, she executed this policy, it's tough to distinguish anything she did individually from what the president wants. >> do you have an answer to that? >> i don't. i mean i think it's a legitimate question. i am not sure what the great view of the world is.

i mean it's been one of putting out iraq and afghanistan and putting those behind us and endi ten years of war. but beyond that, i mean, and dealing obviously on a day-to-day basis with all of the problems that the world puts in front of you, which they continue to do and will in the next four years as well, even more so. but i don't, i'm not sure that there was ever sort of a kissinger overarching theory, a strategy, at least i was unaware of it. >> in our last 30 seconds on this larger question of where we are now, this rebalancing tour, domestic issues, perhaps some qution of whher we are sort of disengaginging. some fears of disengaginging. what do you think? >> i think events will change that. like i said, iran, the middle east, they never let you down, something will happen. and so i do not think, we want to disengaging. i think bipartisan but i don't think we are going to get. >> we want to but we won't get to. >> i mean, and we haven't

even mentioned china. >> all that asia represents, you know n north korea, south korea, japan. i mean it is everywhere. even before we get to north afica. >> all right, mark shlds, david brooks, thank you both so much. >> sreenivasan: finally, tonight's edition of "need to know" compares differences in how the u.s. and other countries deal with claims of medical malpractice. it's the second of two reports funded by the supporters of the non-profit, non-partisan advocacy group common good. in this excerpt, producer william brangham looks at a solution in denmark. >> after she sens her two young boys off to school, 34-year-old single mom januariette maria boards the bus for the hospital near her rural town in denmark. for several years starting around 2007 she complained to her doctor about bad

headaches and feeling exhausted an nauseous all the time. but she says he told her the symptoms were all in her head. >> at one point i go and goog el my systems and kidney disease comes up and i show that to my doctor but he says like he said those other times, there's really nothing wrong with you. >> reporter: turns out she did have kidney disease. and now three days a week she spends five hours hooked up to dialysis. without a kidney transplant, she'll live like this for the rest of her life. back in 2006, stien larson felt a bulge in the back of his throat. >> in going to the specialist and they pretty fast concerns that this was cancer and had to be treated. >> aggressive radiation treatment was supposed to begin within weeks. t there was a backlog at the hospital. and so his treatment was delayed by months.

his tumor kept growing, and his chances for survival went down. >> how much do they grow? >> it was on the way out, outside of my mouth. >> you could visualize it when he opened his mouth. >> if these people lived in the united states and they wanted some compensation for what had happened with their cases, they basically have one option. you hire a lawyer and you take your case to court. but here in denmark, they have a very different approach. instead of suing your doctor or hospital like we do in the u., he you dect your complaint to this office, the patient insurance association. martin erickson is the deputy director. >> so let's say i'm a patient and i believe that i have been hurt by a doctor or a hospital. what do i do? >> all you have to do is actually to fill in a claims form. you can even fill in on a web page. >> you done need a lawyer. >> don't node a lawyer. >> does it cost any money to file. >> it's absolutely free for the patient. only has to fill in the form. that is all you have to do. >> the patient's complaint about their injury then goes to an independent panel of

lawyers, doctors and administrators. there is no courtroom. and no testimony. they examine a patient's medical records and hold it against this standard. would an experienced specialist in the field have acted differently, thereby avoiding the injury. if so, then a patient is offered compensation. all paid for by danish taxpayers. >> need to know airs tonight on most pbs stationsment. >> again the major developments of the day, a federal court ruled president obama's a pointments to the national labor relations >> sreenivasan: "need to know" airs tonight on most pbs stations. >> brown: again, the major developments of the day: a federal court ruled president obama's appointments to the national labor relations board made during a congressional recess were unconstitutional. and pentagon officials said they've begun eliminating 46,000 temporary civilian workers in the face of looming budget cuts. a question-- how did illness affect some of the most famous authors of western literature? kwame holman has more on our online story. >> holman: john milton suffered blindness, the bronte sisters died of tuberculosis, and shakespeare may have contracted syphilis. famous authors and their ailments-- that's the subject of

a new book by dr. john j. ross. find his conversation with jeff on "art beat." on "lunch in the lab," a mistranatiospres a lse rumor about cloning neanderthal babies. get the science behind the story. and is the national debt harmful to children? paul solman answers a viewer's question on "making sense." all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. hari. >> sreenivasan: and that's the newshour for tonight. on monday, the daily download looks at social media in the workplace. i'm hari sreenivasan. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. "washington week" can be seen later this evening on most pbs stations. we'll see you online, and again here monday evening. have a nice weekend. ank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪

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